Jan 12, 2007

The Three Rs

by Liberty and Power

[cross-posted at Austro-Athenian Empire]

Three items of interest:

It looks like Ron Paul is considering running for the Republican nomination. (Conical hat tip to Lew Rockwell.)

His chances of getting it are, of course, svelter than a nanotube. (It would be hilarious if the Republicans did nominate Paul and then the LP nominated someone like Barr!) But it strikes me as a good publicity move; antiwar liberals of the Jon Stewart variety might relish the chance to draw attention to an antiwar, anti-Bush candidate for the GOP top spot.

Robert Anton Wilson has died; see the notices from my two favourite people at Reason. His gleeful conspiracy novels anticipated both Foucault’s Pendulum and The Da Vinci Code, but were a lot more fun. For Wilson’s brief left-libertarian glossary-as-manifesto, see here.

And finally, this great quote from Theodore Roszak’s Voice of the Earth (conical hat tip to David Edwards):

Our complex global economy is built upon millions of small, private acts of psychological surrender, the willingness of people to acquiesce in playing their assigned parts as cogs in the great social machine that encompasses all other machines. They must shape themselves to the prefabricated identities that make efficient coordination possible. ... [T]hat capacity for self-enslavement must be broken.
And before you write in, gentle libertarian comrade: no, my quoting that does not mean that I agree with everything that Theodore Roszak ever said, nor does it mean that I’m getting a tattoo of Stalin on my forehead.

More Comments:

Otto M. Kerner - 1/16/2007

I'm not aware of any libertarian principle requiring that any particular person should be a citizen under the state's laws.

David T. Beito - 1/16/2007

Yes, sad to say that Paul has latched on to the idea the the children of illegals should not be allowed to automatically become citizens.

I'm inclined to forgive him, however, especially when I consider his views on other issues.

Bill Woolsey - 1/14/2007

I have met Ron Paul a couple of times, and he is very nice man.

I have tremendous respect for someone who has been elected and reelected to a relatively high-level office while maintaining what I consider a hardcore libertarian voting record.

While I am always been a bit troubled by some of his patriot/
constitutionalist trappings, the good far outweighs the bad.

So, my first inclination is to jump aboard and work my heart out for Paul in the Republican primary season (recognizing that it is pretty much a hopeless cause.)

But in the last few days I have heard claims that Paul has become very bad on immigration. Anyone know what is the story there?

Roderick T. Long - 1/14/2007

I see you've learned to Speak Anew.

Aeon J. Skoble - 1/13/2007

Item 1: double-plus good. No LP candidate since Ron Paul has been nearly as good. Short of a celeb candidate like Clint Eastwood, Ron Paul, an actual member of congress, would be the best choice.
Item 2: double-plus ungood. Illuminatus is a wild ride, lots of fun and very thought-provoking.